


The Young and the Stupid

by asmodesgold



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 06:44:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9166723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asmodesgold/pseuds/asmodesgold
Summary: Sonny pulls a move straight out of daytime television, and Rafe isn't having any of it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to Joseph Mascolo, the soap star who passed away three weeks ago. He played the charismatic Stefano DiMera on Days of Our Lives, a show that was a staple in our house growing up. In my opinion he was one of, if not the, best actors on it, and though I no longer watch soaps I still mourn his passing.
> 
> Also, it's bs that there's no tag for Carmen, but I guess the writers would have to give her a LAST NAME in order for her to have one...
> 
> As always, shout out to booyahkendell for being my beta!

“So,” Rafe began, leaning forward and pressing his fingertips together in front of his face. “An ex-con threatened you.”

 

“Yes,” Sonny said, resisting the urge to pull at his collar.

 

“And then threatened me, because of you.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You believed this to be a credible threat, and the rest of the squad agreed with you.”

 

Nod.

 

“And instead of simply informing me of these developments, you decided to come in here, tell me that your family is disgusted by our relationship and they've reminded you of how abhorrent it is to God and how you basically never wanted to see me or be reminded of me ever again despite our eleven month relationship and our plans to move in together.”

 

Rafe soldiered on, cutting off Sonny’s reply.

 

“You did that with the idea that if we broke up, it would somehow protect me from this would-be assassin, am I correct?”

 

Sonny nodded again, staring at the carpet in front of Rafe's desk, unable to meet his ex’s eyes.

 

“And you've come here now, a month later, to tell me all of this because the threat has been taken care of and you wish to apologize.”

 

“Yes,” Sonny said, in a small voice.

 

“So my question then is this: did you happen to bring my evil twin that no one knew existed?”

 

“Wait, what?” Sonny looked up, startled.

 

“Are the two of you going to kidnap me while he takes over my life and no one's the wiser?”

 

“What are you - ?”

 

“Should I also be expecting my abuelita to come walking through those doors telling me her death was an elaborate ruse, and she's actually been in a coma all this time in some castle in Europe?”

 

He was entirely too lost to do anything other than stare blankly at Rafe.

 

“Am I going to be coming down with a case of amnesia some point soon? Is - “. 

 

His desk phone pinged, cutting off his rant. “Yes, Carmen? Yes, please do. And when you get a chance, could you come in here for a minute? I need a second opinion on something.”

 

The two of them sat in silence, Rafe with that look Sonny recognized from court when the ADA led witnesses into traps.

 

“Should I clear a spot in my schedule for this afternoon to witness a former lover confronting you in the town square to tell you she’s pregnant with your child? Or are  _ you _ going to tell  _ me _ that you’re having  _ my  _ child?”

 

After another moment of silence Rafe began looking expectantly around the room.

 

“...What?” Sonny asked warily.

 

“Oh, I’m just waiting for the dramatic swell of music, because apparently I’m starring in a telenovela now.”

 

Everything clicked in Sonny’s head and he grimaced. 

 

Yeah, he probably deserved that.

 

The door opened and Carmen walked in, carrying some paperwork which she handed to the ADA.

 

“Carmen,” Rafe greeted, leaning back in his chair. “You remember Detective Carisi.”

 

Carmen turned to fix an unimpressed look on Sonny, leaning back against the front of Rafe’s desk.

 

“The one who pined over you for two years?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“The one who showed up here with that gaudy bouquet and begged you to let him take you out on a date?”

 

“Correct.”

 

Sonny wondered if he slumped down in the chair far enough if it would simply swallow him whole so he could escape the way the two of them were intently staring at him.

 

“The one who said he loved you two months in?”

 

“Yup,” Rafe said, popping the ‘ _ p _ ’.

 

“Who came up here every time he got off work before you in order to keep you company while you worked late?”

 

“Mmhm.”

 

“The one who, a year in, suddenly tells you that he and his family find the relationship disgusting and that he can’t see you anymore?”

 

“That’s the one.”   
  


“The one who made you cry?”

 

Rafe didn’t answer, but he didn’t take his eyes off of Sonny either. Sonny thought that it would be a good thing for him to figure out a way to shrink down to as small as he felt so that somebody could squash him like the insect he was; he shouldn’t have been surprised to hear that he hurt Rafe, but he’d made him cry?

 

Without another word, Carmen marched out of the room, quickly returning with a half-finished cup of iced coffee.

 

“Do you want the honors or can I?” she asked Rafe.

 

“I would let you - you have been the one who’s had to put up with me for the past month - but I worry what Robyn would do if she came in here to find that mess.”

 

Carmen hummed her agreement, taking a sip.

 

“It’s probably for the best; it would’ve been better with something hotter anyways. But I was on the right track, right? That  _ is _ what they’d do in these situations in a soap opera?”

 

Rafe snapped his fingers and pointed at her.

 

“You’re absolutely - yes, a soap opera works much better than a telenovela here.”

 

Stomach uncomfortably churning, Sonny looked between the two of them; however, they appeared to be done making their point.

 

“I'm sorry,” he said, and God, he really was. “I was just trying to protect you.”

 

“Carmen,” Rafe said, holding out a hand to her while staring Sonny down. “I think I will need that drink after all.”

 

“I thought I was doing -”.

 

“You see,  _ that's  _ your first problem.  _ You _ thought. In the real world, in  _ real  _ relationships, it's a  _ partnership _ where  _ both  _ people have input. You should've come to me with this and  _ we  _ could've decided  _ together _ what our best option was. Which, by the way, would not have been your plan, but say it had, we could've simply  _ staged _ the break-up instead of you actually stabbing me through the heart.”

 

That...that actually made sense, and made his head hurt with the realization of how stupid he’d been.

 

“Not that any of that would’ve even been necessary because there would’ve been no point in splitting up, pretend or otherwise.”   
  


“Rafe, they were targeting you,” Sonny protested. “Targeting you to get to me, you had to be out of the picture for your safety!”

 

“And  _ again _ , who makes decisions about what’s best for me?”

 

“But -”.

 

“The only way you get a say in it at all is if it’s  _ with  _ me. Together. First of all,” Rafe said, tapping a pen on one of the files Carmen had brought. “Second of all, what was stopping this man from killing me anyways? Certainly anyone with eyes could’ve seen how much we cared for each other, so even if he had believed your ploy he still could’ve had me killed because he knew that at one point you loved me.”

 

Sonny sat, stunned, as he realized Rafe was right.

 

“Should I not have been warned?” Rafe continued. “Should someone have not informed me that someone was intent on throwing my lifeless body on your doorstep?”

 

“I had a protective detail on you!” Sonny said.

 

“So that made it okay to keep me in the dark about it?”

 

He looked down at his scuffed shoes and shook his head.

 

“That’s not even to mention the number of people who are actively sending me death threats that have nothing to do with you at all! Carmen, what was that one that you said someone had called in today?”

 

“Which one,” she asked, breaking from scowling at Sonny to looking over her shoulder at her boss. “The one who thought shutting down that paedophile’s website was breaking the first amendment, or the one with the jello?”

 

“The jello? Wait, don’t tell me, save that for our dinner on Thursday.”

 

Sonny groaned and slumped forward, hiding his face in his hands.

 

“You’re right, I was a huge idiot!”

 

Carmen’s soft footfalls passed him and made their way out the door.

 

“The worst thing,” Rafe said with something in his tone that made Sonny look back up. “The worst thing is, what if something  _ had  _ happened. What if something had happened to either one of us, for any reason? The last thing you’d said to me was how much I disgusted you - “.

 

“Rafe that wasn’t  _ true _ -”.

 

“But how was I supposed to know that?”

 

“...”

 

“Was I to spend the rest of my life with you six feet under, unable to tell me it wasn’t true? Was I to die alone in my apartment thinking that you never loved me?”

 

“God, Rafe…”.

 

It was Rafe’s turn to look away. He flipped open one of the file folders, but clearly couldn’t focus on anything within.

 

“Nothing that anyone could’ve done would’ve been worse than either of those,” he eventually said.

 

What could he say to that? Sonny's heart sank into his already upset stomach. Both of those scenarios played out in his head and he hated himself for what he’d done, and almost did, to this man that meant the world to him.

 

“I should go,” he rose to his feet, shoving his hands in his coat pockets. “There isn’t anything I could ever do to make up for how huge of an idiot I’ve been. I’m sorry for everything.”

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“I’m leaving. You’re not going to want to see me around here after I hurt you like that.”

 

“Again with the dramatics? Sonny,” Rafe stood and rounded the desk to stand right in front of the detective. “Did you not listen to what I’ve said? I. Love. You. I never wanted you to leave in the first place, so why would I want you to leave now?”

 

“...Really?” Hope pushed at the edges of his guilt and misery.

 

“Yes, you fool,” Rafe said without any heat. 

 

He reached out and placed the flats of his hands on Sonny’s chest, looking lost for the first time that evening. Sonny covered his hands with his own and leaned forward to rest their foreheads together. They stood like that for a minute, just breathing each other in until Sonny couldn’t take not holding Rafe in his arms anymore, and did just that, tucking the counselor’s head under his. 

 

“I’m not going to suddenly forget all this, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you around anymore. We’re going to talk through this, agree to never keep each other in the dark, especially when it comes to things of this magnitude. And then you’re going to hold me while I complain about Paquin.”

 

“Paquin?”

 

Rafe pulled back but did not escape Sonny’s embrace.

 

“Yes, he’s a new defense lawyer who just moved down here three weeks ago from Albany and he’s the most moronic person I believe I’ve ever known. Which, in light of what you’ve done this past month, is saying something.”

 

The insult stung, but not enough to keep the grin off of Sonny’s face.   
  


“I suppose I owe Carmen an apology for having to be the sole bearer of those rants.”

 

“Yes!” she agreed loudly from the other room, causing both men to chuckle quietly.

 

Stepping back, Rafe smoothed down the front of Sonny’s shirt and made his way back to his desk where he opened a drawer and pulled out a small stack of menus.

 

“I’m sure you can start by paying for her dinner. Carmen,” he called. “What are you in the mood for?”

 

“It’s been a month since we’ve had Italian!”

 

Sonny laughed and Rafe grinned back at him, picking up the phone. 

 

Sonny slowly walked behind Rafe and settled his arms around the man’s middle while he ordered their food. As he hung up, Sonny placed a kiss just behind an ear. Rafe stilled, then, with a speed Sonny forgot he had, spun in his arms and was passionately kissing him.

 

“I’m still pissed at you,” Rafe said between kisses.

 

“That’s okay, I’m still pissed at me, too.”

 

Rafe snorted.

 

Eventually, they reluctantly separated, and Sonny, even more reluctantly, left for their food. But before he reached the door, the ADA stopped him.

 

“Sonny,” he said, flipping through some paperwork. “I love you, but please don’t bring back a long lost cousin suffering from alternate personalities with the ravioli.”

 

“...You’re never going to let this go, are you?”

 

“Well, we have to have something to fill the noonday hour for the next six weeks, don’t we?”

 

Sonny grinned lecherously across the room at him.

 

“I can think of a few other things we could fill an hour with.”

 

“I’m sure you can,” Rafe smirked.

 

He turned to leave, then paused one last time.

 

“Hey, Rafe?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“I really am sorry.”

 

“I know.”

 

They smiled at each other a minute, then Rafe shooed him away with a reminder about the food, Carmen handing him a now empty coffee cup which he promised to refill “with something hot”, as she’d said with a gleam in her eye. 

 

As the cold wind outside tugged at his coat and he weaved his way through the other pedestrians, Sonny couldn’t help but smile to himself. 

 

Because everything? Everything was going to be okay.


End file.
